sniffing things out

So in tonight‘s class Jon noted we’re going to move onto triggers that don’t come from our memory and we will have to make assumptions
I'm gonna go over some notes and then talk about my personal harvest

we went into a deep meditation and then John asked us all to put our right finger to our temple and point to our dreamscape that we had created last week
and then he told us to put our right finger on our temple and project our self into it as a witness
then he told us to put people in the dream scape and then we were to choose one person to focus on
then we were to face them -inches away- noting their smell, taste etc.- smelling them from top to bottom ,touching them from top to bottom
we were to face them then and then face the back of them and continue going top to bottom - taking in their care physical characteristics anything our senses could pick up from them
then we were to take things out of their pockets and put them on the floor by their feet -at least five items

So it was my turn to attempt this and she had a very vivid landscape on the sound in Florida near Saint Augustine - outside a restaurant -on a deck -to the left was a bike /walking path that led to an old fishing bridge -palm trees lined the path -the sound was immediately in front of the deck and there was a railing overlooking the water, the sun was behind her
to the right of the sound you could see ocean extending to the horizon
the deck was pink/brown stucco
when Jon told us to add people - she saw a family behind me sitting at a table and then a person riding a bike on the bike path towards the fishing bridge and then she saw a boat out in the water
then she noticed a single man leaning on the rail in front of her on the deck
He was turned slightly left -she could see his profile
and so when she stood in front of him , inches away from his face, she started with his hair and put her fingers through it -it was brown layered styled she noticed he had a little bit of a stubble - he had not shaved that day -he had a white collared shirt that was slightly worn it looked like a favorite shirt with the sleeves rolled up -his shirt was tucked in his khaki shorts and he wore brown flip-flops
she noticed he had a watch with an alligator band and Roman numerals on the face
Jon told her to really get in on him and I/she felt a little strange because in retrospect she's supposed to just be the witness -but I could feel her making an emotional connection - not sure she is supposed to connect with the character in this exercise, but just observe
she became a little more assertive with analyzing him and putting her hands on him as Jon told me to really get in on him
She noticed his hands were well manicured -they were nice hands -she held them and they were comfortable -she noticed when she put both hands on his shoulders and let her hands rub down his arms -he was muscular and toned and he felt solid -when she looked at his front she could tell that he was muscular as his two buttons were undone on his shirt - he seemed well put together
Jon told me to kiss his cheek so when she did he tasted a little salty - we have been standing out in the ocean air and the residue was on his face when she touched his arms he felt a little damp - it was 5:45 in the afternoon and the sun was going down and the oppressive heat was leaving the day -it was turning into a nice evening -
she took a receipt out of his back pocket, his wallet, a sun stick that was in his front shirt pocket ,the sun stick had 30+ sunscreen, the receipt was from his dinner -he had a beer oysters tuna and a glass of white wine -when she opened his wallet she saw the drivers license ,an American Express card, a gold card that later revealed itself to be a membership card to a health club and he had been a member since 2000
She found what turned out to be a swimming metal tucked in
his wallet and it had congratulations engraved on the back and on the front there was a swimmer upper body arms
there was a folded check to coastal properties for $10,000 ,several $20 bills ,the only name that appeared to her was Gregory - he appeared to be 50 to 60 years old and his hair was brown
He appeared to be pondering or reflecting as he looked to the left -his brow was not wrinkled -he had a relaxed aura about him

Just a note - the dream I structured the landscape from did not have any people in it -I was swimming in the ocean and had gone to that restaurant and was on the deck - I had gone into the water swimming - so adding the people was totally new

I feel like I was able to stream fairly well -I know now to target or focus on a female
and I believe trying to sense conflict or struggle helps with the character analysis
again I had to pull myself away from becoming emotionally attached to him and take on the witness roll of just observing

Jon noted several themes occurring in this stream -it was near the water- he was alone not from there - seemed to be a steady salt of the earth guy wearing his favorite shirt but some thing has been happening in his life -he was not wearing or a ring - John surmised perhaps he was a salesman may be in a midlife crisis -we wondered what he’s pondering -time is a strong concept -he’s in transition perhaps - he has this check he hasn’t cashed - Roman numerals suggest ultra conservative -he’s made an effort to stay well put together -he’s in good shape -he could be sad but would know how to snap out of it if he’s a salesman - and this could add a layer if one were portraying him

Jon noted it’s a puzzle we put together -Jon noted if no one‘s in our dream we can turn left or right and see someone appear -also streaming leads us to an icon -the moment we become a character it takes a life of its own - we don’t have to do more than we know about a character
He suggested one could study a salesman to get the rhythms of his character -
we don’t go in looking for our character - we need to let it grow -don’t force or put things there - how I weave the stuff together is based on my artistic approach -
we have a goal to create a profile for our character - if one were playing this character they could create an arc by starting with his somewhat moody affect -the pondering -and then if someone delivered him a line -he could jump out of that mood and present his salesman persona -which would give another layer and help create an arc to the scene

I understand as we explore in the streaming exercises we pick up an essence about the character which we can later use as a layer in our work -
so next time I’ll look forward to witnessing a female character and try to sniff out a struggle or conflict
I was able to stay away from my original dream and feel like this is progress for me
Look forward to watching others tonight!